Hojo was a “daimyo” and “samurai” who, after a shameful defeat, committed “seppuku” or ritual suicide by self-disembowelment. He composed a poem before he killed himself:

.

“Death Poem”

.

Autumn wind of evening,

blow away the clouds that mass

over the moon’s pure light

and the mists that cloud our mind –

do thou sweep away as well.

Now we disappear –

well, what must we think of it?

From the sky we came – now we may go back again.

That’s at least one point of view.

. . .

Hojo Ujimasa (1538-1590)

“Poema de muerte”

.

Viento otoñal de la noche,

sopla lejos las nubes que obstruyen

la luz pura de la luna

y la neblina que nubla nuestra mente-

también bárrela lejos.

Ahora nosotros desaparecemos –

Y bien, ¿qué deberíamos pensar de esto?

Del cielo vinimos- ahora debemos regresar otra vez.

Ese es al menos un punto de vista.

. . .

The following poem by Akiko Yosano was composed as if to her younger brother who was drafted to fight in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). It was never specifically anti-war only that the poet wished that her brother not sacrifice his life. At the time the poem was not censored but in the militaristic 1930s it was banned in Japan.